*** Little Princesses***

















Just a typical day lately. Our neighbor has a little girl, E, just a little older than Julia. Good thing we have enough dress up clothes and thrones to go around. At this point they had decided to dress up and then watch the Princess movies that they were dressed as. So as E put it, "since Julia was dressed first, we should watch Enchanted first". LOL. Both girls are quite happy to have someone to play with.

***Some Beach***





























I know, I should stop rubbing it in or gloating that this is where we live. I promise I'm not trying to, sometimes I just still can't believe it. Daddy had the day off and the whole day seems a bit of a blur already. Started off with my dentist appointment (yep, they found a bit of work to do in there last week) but that was quick and I'm happy to say painless, weird having my cheek numb all day but hey..lol. Then we headed out to do a bit of shopping. We went to Kohls, and did you know that their family bathroom has two toilets?? Sorry but yes, I'm a Mom first and you sometimes have to hear the potty stories. I really didn't know they were set up this way but one of the older ladies that was working directed me to the Family Restroom instead of the Ladies room for Julia. We walked in and Julia's face was priceless... she was stunned. But next to the big potty there was a "Julia" potty just her size.(That's what she called it by the way) TOO CUTE! She loved that and trust me she remembered it too. We made two trips while we were there! ;)

So anyways, after shopping and lunch we were heading home and instead decided to take a drive out to one of the area beaches. One we hadn't had a chance to check out sooner. I think it was just what we needed and thankfully we had the camera in the car. Some nice lady even offered to take a picture of all three of us and you know how rare those are for us. Julia had fallen asleep in the van but of course was happy to wake up to go to the beach. However she was having nothing to do with walking in the soft sand, the wet sand she had no problem with, but she emphatically, as you can see pictured above, told us she did not WANT to stand or sit in the soft sand. I think she was afraid of sinking or something.. who knows. It was very funny though and you can see she was clinging to Daddy for all she was worth! LOL.

** The Dentist**

We attempted our first official dentist appointment the other day. Sad to say it was an absolute, no go. Julia was very good, the girls in the office all liked her, she was having fun, right up until the dentist came in and started talking to her. He opened his mouth and she clamped hers shut! No bribing in the world was going to get her to open it for him. :( So we gave up and I proceeded with my dental cleaning with the hygienist. At this point, Julia was sitting in a chair beside me and was very closely observing my appointment. There I was in the chair, mouth wide open with the hygienist looking in one side of my mouth and Julia as close as she could get looking in the other side. Not only was the hygienist cracking up, I was doing all I could to not laugh (unsuccessfully after awhile) and apparently everyone that walked by the door was chuckling too! This child certainly likes to observe the details of everything! So after my cleaning was done, she let the hygienist take a peek in her mouth. The dental hygienist decided to give the doc one more shot and went out to get him. He came back in the room and Julia clamped her jaw shut again! So after we talked a bit more, he was nice enough to refer me to a pediatric dentist in the general area, not as close as he is, but oh well, that also happens to be a woman. I have a feeling we'll have better luck there.

Her shyness around men seems to be getting worse instead of better. This is a new one for me to deal with. I was shy as a kid, heck, ask my classmates, I was shy all the way through school and still would likely be in that situation. But I grew up with many older brothers and one younger, so I have not really encountered the gender shyness before. I think I was more prepared for this when Julia was an infant and we were meeting her in China. We had somewhat prepared ourselves for the possibility that she wouldn't like men, but she didn't really have an issue with it at the time. It did and always has taken her a little longer to warm up to most men, Daddy, Uncle Joel and Uncle Dean being the exceptions. But she would warm up, now I'm not sure she would. It gets harder and harder. When we stayed at my friends house in SC, she wouldn't even speak to Mr. Mike. ALL WEEK. I'm just feeling very frustrated right now and at a loss.

***A New Look***

Thanks to "The Cutest Blog on the Block" (see link in the upper left;) we finally have a new look! And it was really easy to do, should have done it ages ago! The header I think may take me a bit longer to get brave enough to try. But at least the page is a bit brighter now and a bit more "us" :)

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN***































Hope you all had as much fun as we did tonight. We opted to take Julia to the Zoo tonight and do a bit of Trick or Treating there while seeing the animals and taking a Haunted Train ride through the Safari. SHE LOVED IT! Didn't get as much candy as she would've if we had done a more traditional trick or treat but we're not big on a lot of candy and she is big on animals so I think this was the right option for us this year. They had a warning on the train ride, recommended for ages 8 and up, yeah whatever, she was still asking to get back on it when we got home.

She was very funny today leading up to this evenings events. I had told her she couldn't go tonight unless she napped, so she took her nap like a good girl, no fighting it today. Actually most of the week we have been phasing naps out but I knew it would be a late night so nap she did. When she woke up, she told me first that she had napped enough so she could trick or treat. Then she told me "I think we need the map to see where the animals are and to trick or treat" LOL. So I had to explain that it was a different Zoo then the one we went to with T and Ms. D. Her mind just never stops, that's for sure. Then we worked on getting ready, she let me curl her hair, not that it stayed in long but it was very cute while it lasted. I may be biased, but hey I'm her Mom that's my right, but I think she made a very sweet Snow White.

**A Day at Swan Lake**




























A few more pictures from our trip. We met Debra and Kasey for lunch one afternoon in South Carolina and took the kids to Swan Lake. The geese and swans swarmed us as soon as we entered looking for food. Daddy obliged by getting some Cheerios for the kids to toss out to them. You can see the swan was not going to be left out and was very interested in my camera. I'm really not fond of birds, okay from a distance I think they are beautiful, but up close and personal I just really don't do well. So I was glad when the Cheerios distracted him and he got into the water where as far as I'm concerned he belonged! Kasey and Julia just had fun playing together walking around the lake and then playing on the playground. He was quite the gentleman and took being the older kid very seriously. It was nice to have Daddy with us for times like this as well, he was quite happy to take the kids on the playground and keep closer to them so that Debra and I could sit in the shade and just visit. :)

To sum it up, it was just another good day on our trip.

Meeting our Mei-mei



























This post has been a very long time in coming, for just about a year now we have been working and waiting to bring this little one home. Our trip to CT was all about her. We finally got to meet her in person, this Devyn, that we had oh so few pictures of and not nearly enough information. We finally feel confident in saying that yes it will only be a matter of time before they bring her home to us. Our visit went oh so well, we found her full of personality, as stubborn as her big sister, and ready and willing to come with us every day that we went to get her. We had been told she didn't like men, but she went right to Daddy first. He's always had that special gift. :)

Julia was at once very protective and at the same jealous of Devyn. I think we were able to balance out the jealous part pretty well. By the middle of the week she was more concerned about where Devyn was, and who she was with. Overall I think she handled this new step in our lives fairly well. She didn't like that we had to leave Devyn behind (but then neither did we)but seemed okay when we told her that we had to come home and get her room ready for her. She's very excited about helping to decorate another room.

I know this is probably not nearly enough information but more will be coming over the coming months. At this point we have to wait to hear from FL on what our requirements are going to be, as far as CT is concerned we just need the house certified they are considering us except for that. But sadly this could still take another 4-6 months. Please pray that it doesn't, we have all, and Devyn mostly, waited long enough. For now we would just like to introduce you to Devyn Mei.

Still on the go


Sorry no pics yet, we have been taking quite a few but no chance yet to load them. I just wanted to take a moment and check in. The trip has been going great and yes we are loving the space in the van! A much more comfortable ride for all of us! If you have ever traveled with us (excluding our trip to China where we actually managed the minimum!) you will know how my hubby loads the car down, so this has been a much better experience!

We stayed with our friends in TN the first night of our trip, it was so good to see them again and catch up! We hadn't seen them in almost 5 years, so it was their first time meeting Julia. Boy did she put on a show for them. I'm not sure they'll have us back! LOL. Tearing around the house, squeals of laughter which turned to tears when she collided with a door knob. We had told her to stop running countless times but she told me later she was trying to scare their daddy (our friends have 3 older girls), Julia also told me "he looks like a dinosaur" LOL! So Mr. John not sure what she meant by that, but she was sure having fun! Thanks so much for opening your home, it was a great way to start our trip!

We had a great time in CT. I'll write more about that after we get home and I have pictures to post.

We are now settled in with friends in SC and enjoying our time here. Julia is having a blast with the kids and I think we are going to have a hard time separating two little girls come Sunday. Julia and my friend's daughter Miss D we'll call her are only a year apart in age and into the same things. Very much alike, so they are having lots of fun. I felt bad for Miss D last night though, she was trying to get Julia to go play with her but her older brother had gotten his cars out and Julia wanted to play with him instead. They spent almost an hour playing with the cars and blocks. Familiar territory for Julia I think but the look on Miss D's face when Julia told her she would rather play cars. Let's just say Miss D was a bit confused and I think disappointed. But they were together again by dinner time and had a hard time saying good night to each other. LOL

One other funny little thing from our stay in the hotel. Daddy was trying to make sure I had some peace our last night in CT since I ended up sick that night. Well Julia had received a moose/deer blanket (to Julia it naturally looked like a moose pattern) from my aunt that she quickly attached to and wanted to walk around in, so her Daddy tied it on her like a cape. This concept was not lost on Julia, she picked up her moose and tucked him under the blanket with her and says "look Mama, he's super Moosey, I'm super too" but it gets better. Daddy drew an imaginary line on the floor and told Julia not to cross it, remember he's trying to give me some peace, but that line kept moving, as I was in another part of the room I didn't know where the "line" actually was, Julia gets to the doorway of the room to talk to me so I asked her where the line was.. she drew a line with her foot along the door frame and said "here" I said "oh okay" thinking okay that's logical I guess, then she moves a little closer draws another line and says "here" I said "I thought it was back there" she giggles and says "I think it's here, but Mama that line was surely heavy" LOL I found out later the line was actually the previous door frame, apparently Julia had been picking it up and moving it closer and closer til she could get to me! She is too, too funny sometimes!

Our new ride





























After talking about it for many, many years, we finally went out last week and bought a minivan. With the amount of trips we take, it just finally became something we could put off no longer. With getting ready to take off again it seemed like it was time. :)

Despite the look on munchkin's face, she's actually quite happy in the van, and she makes sure that we don't slip and call it a car either. LOL.

We'll be getting to see lots of old friends and new on this trip, so I'm sure we will have lots to write and post pictures about over the next few weeks. Stay tuned...

Some cutting and pasting

























These pictures aren't the greatest but I thought you'd rather see them than not. Our "school" supplies have finally all shown up and while we still have no real plan, this week Julia and I have just been checking them out and seeing what interests her (everything) and where she may need some work. As this was her first day with scissors, yes ever and even then I didn't tell Daddy that she had them until after we got started, she still did pretty good. Having worked with kids her age and older that had never had scissors before I'd have to say she managed. It's definitely a skill that's going to take some practice but she's persistent enough that I don't see that being a problem. The glue stick she got right away. LOL. The exercise I had for her today was more about the cutting and just getting used to holding the "snips" as she calls them. She was very excited about having her own. Now I just have to figure out where to keep them hidden!

We've also had lots of fun with play dough this week, and I'm not sure if we'll crack out the paint tomorrow or if that will wait til next week. Just lots of fun stuff. We still won't get too into a rhythm yet as we have another big trip coming up, (don't we always?) but I'm happy that we are getting more hands on again, we had to sell all of my craft supplies (paints, glues, etc) before our move so I have been feeling lost without have a stash to fall back on. And all of this will be here and ready when we get back so we can get somewhere. I also need to call the local gymnastics place and see what their winter session is going to be like for her age. I did promise her back during the Olympics (since she was asking) that if she started using the potty all the time that I would take her back to gymnastics. She's done it and I don't think she's forgotten. So that will be on the agenda as well if we can fit it in.

Why do I blog?


My blogging buddy Missy asked this very good question recently and got me thinking. So why do I do it? Why do I sit here at this desk and type out these words, spend who knows how much time some days loading pictures and videos?

At first the answer was easy, so that our friends and family could follow us in the only way we could find as we traveled to China and met Julia for the first time. Then for awhile it became an obligation because as you know we live no where near our families and they still wanted the pictures. But if was just about the pictures, that would've been it. I could have easily just kept the dropshot account and archived the blog, but no, by then I was already hooked on writing about our daily life. Our ups and downs with Julia, our learning experiences as new parents and mostly just about Julia herself. I admit I'm still in awe of her every single day. The writing helps me to feel not so far away from our loved ones. To know that we've connected in at least a small way every time they log on. So that even when they aren't here to share the laughs and the bumps and bruises they know what's going on with us and that we are still here muddling our way through.

Now of course there are the others that I've met by blogging and that I get to connect with and keep up with. Some I've met in person, like Jennifer who we traveled to China with, and others I've not yet met and may never meet that still share a part of our day and open a small window into theirs for us. Like Missy and Kim. I like knowing for instance that my friend Noelle in Holland still checks in on us once in awhile, or that my friends in Germany of which I have a couple can just stop in anytime and take a few minutes to catch whenever it's convenient for them. Especially since phone calls just aren't always that convenient though they may be more personal. It just makes this big world we live in for a few moments seem a lot smaller.

Anyways. That's why I blog. Mostly for family, some for me and a lot for Julia so that someday I can have this of this information for her. What we were feeling and thinking, what she was like as a baby and a toddler, I guess since I'm not very good at scrap booking, though I do love to do that too, I just never seem to find time without Julia to scrap book FOR her. So for now this is it. A record if you will of who we are and how we spend our days. If you've enjoyed following us on our journey I hope we've made you smile at least a time or two. If you are new to us I hope you'll stick around leave us a comment and get to know us a little better.

So why do you blog?

***Far Reaching Effects of Hurricane Ike***






Our pictures aren't great, but you can sure see an angry looking Gulf and the Hurricane is over 300 miles away from us. Some effects in our area include the closure of a main road, flooding in a few subdivisions close to the coast and I'm sure more that I'm just too tired to blog about tonight.

The waves were definitely making Julia nervous, finally she shows some common sense where the water is concerned! She had no intention of getting too close but she did enjoy finding some bigger seashells that got washed up. As a matter of fact the beach was much closer than the last time we were down there. By that I mean the walk way we use to get over the dunes to the beach, the end of it was covered in sand, the last time we were there, it wasn't even close we had to take a BIG step down.

Please, please pray for those in TX and LA tonight in the path of this storm.

****belated birthday packages****




















Belated or not, Julia was entirely too happy to receive her package from Uncle Joel and Aunt Kim yesterday! I swear the child thinks any package at the door is for her, of course she is often right, but still! LOL.

She had lots of fun unwrapping and oohing and ahhing, and "Mama can you open this? Can we?" Aunt Kim as always picked out some fast favorites, and munchkin has been happily entertained ever since. When Daddy got home the conversation went something like this.

"Daddy, look what I got"
"Julia, what did you get?"
Thinks for a moment.. and shouts, arms waving to take it all in around her "I got ALL this!!"
After which Daddy was finally able to get her attention enough to get his usual welcome home hugs!

On a more serious note, we had Julia tested for TB this week. I'm happy to report a completely negative result! I had been reading on her CWI's yahoo group of more and more children showing up with latent TB and that they are fairly sure one of the nannies is a carrier. Of course not knowing which one or who was often with Julia, I was just feeling uneasy about it and wanted to rule it out. I'm glad we did. I certainly feel better about it, as it was just one more thing weighing on my mind from her time in China.

So all is well in our household. Or as well it can be when dealing with a very stubborn, spicy, 3 year old! ;)

***Dr's, furniture and more***



Can you believe she folded herself into this basket?



And then proceeded to fall asleep?! lol



finally an undamaged dresser!!

her new "pink" ceiling fan

her animals

getting in on the picture taking


















Yesterday was a very busy day around here. Julia had a Dr's. appointment with her new pediatrician that I'm happy to say went very well! She even did really well with getting her shots, though I assure you she wasn't very happy about it at all. But she only cried a minute while they were actually doing it and then didn't even blink when they pricked her finger to check her iron. All was good and before I forget, she measured in at 39" tall but she had her sandals on so I think the
38 1/2" we measured the other night is probably right on. She finally broke 30 lbs and weighed in at 31 lbs. lol Her iron was great so all is good as far as her health is concerned. And she was very good about talking to the Dr as well so even though she did say was shy, she was vocal enough that the Dr was impressed with how articulate she was. She also did great with her shapes and colors. :) That's my girl.

Later as we were getting ready to leave again for my Dr's appointment, the furniture truck showed up unexpectedly. I guess they still had my TX cell number on file and though I was a bit irritated that they didn't call the back up number, which was our home number, it worked out okay. Fortunately daddy had come home to help with the appointment, so we did a quick swap instead and he stayed here with munchkin while I went to the Dr's by myself, in the pouring rain I might add. I guess it never rained here at the house, thank goodness as they were unloading furniture, but it poured so hard where I was that I could barely see the road. Fun. I'm happy to say that the third time was indeed the charm as far as Julia's dresser went! FINALLY we got one that is not cracked, chipped or damaged!

When I got home, Julia was playing in the basket and shortly there after fell asleep. She slept for maybe 45 minutes and then woke up because she had an accident, poor baby was so upset, I got her cleaned up and we laid back down in the big bed and her and I passed out til 6:30pm!!! actually she didn't wake til about 7! I think those shots were getting to her. We gave her some Tylenol later and she was ASKING to go to bed a little after 9. While it was much later that she finally fell asleep and stayed that way she never once got back out of bed. Not until 3 AM that is. Needless to say we were all a bit off last night and this morning.

She seems to feeling more like herself this afternoon and hopefully back on schedule. Especially since she jumped into the pictures I was getting of her room again. LOL. to show you an undamaged dresser (can you tell I'm excited about that?), her new ceiling fan that we picked up on clearance, got to love the timing there! and the only reason I took another picture of her bed was to illustrate how full it is getting. yes this is definitely my child! My parents can attest to the stuffed animals I used to be surrounded by and she is no different. She is now up to 2 moose and 2 kitty cats and a horse! the only reason the horse isn't on the bed?? because she's still carrying him around of course! we never who she is going to show up with when she makes her way to our room in the middle of the night. Though I do have to say that before last night, she has slept in her bed until anywhere between 5:30 and 7am ALL WEEK!!! I think we are finally getting somewhere with her sleep patterns!!! I pray it lasts, for all our sakes!! :)